Across the country low income senior citizens and disabled people will lose help paying their Medicare part B premiums next Monday because the federal money that funded the program has dried up. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted for the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act by a margin of 355 to 60. But once it made it to the Senate it has died because it fell two votes short of reaching the required sixty votes to bring it to the floor for a full Senate vote. My Congressional Representative voted for it in the house but both of my Senators voted against it. I applaud Bob Inglis and denounce Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham for voting against a program that helps seniors who need it badly in favor of a bill that helps the insurance companies. Losing part “B” will cost these low income seniors and disabled people to the tune of $96.40 a month but it will also cause a drop of 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. This will cause more doctors to cut the number of Medicare patients they accept, or refuse them all together. The American Medical Association said it was “outraged that the senators voted to protect insurance companies at the expense of seniors”. Check and see how your senator voted on this issue and vote accordingly in the fall, I will.